Recent events have undeniably thrust a dark shadow over the town. The fourth murder since last September of a young person from Keighley spread shock, fear and despair through the community.

The flood of letters, phone calls and e-mails to our offices was testament to that. Despite the reassurances of police chiefs and further arrests in connection with the latest horrific killing, the public understandably is anxious.

The image of Keighley has taken a battering, and to people with a heartfelt pride in their town this is not easy to stomach.

But tragic and senseless as all this has been, it is important that we should hold on to an element of hope and optimism.

And at this time more than any other, we should embrace everything that is positive in the town.

We must remember that much good is being done and people have reason to hold on to their pride.

Today we reveal how the town centre has received a major boost, with the purchase by a London-based company of the Airedale Shopping Centre. The firm is showing £30 million worth of faith in Keighley. With the new state-of-the-art bus station now operating and Morrisons planning a multi-million-pound redevelopment of its Worth Way store, the future for the heart of the town is looking bright.

And on the human side, the generosity of townspeople has once again provided a fantastic example to others.

Three Keighley firefighters today jet off to New York, taking with them a cheque for over £5,000 for the families of American colleagues killed in the September 11 terrorist atrocity. The response from the Keighley public to their fundraising initiative exceeded all expectations, with a final total five times greater than anything hoped for.

A charity fundraiser, who formerly worked in the area and organised collections in towns and cities right across the region, once commented that there was one place above all others where he knew there would be an overwhelming response -- that was Keighley.

The town has proved over the years that it has an unshakeable resilience, and those reserves are once again being drawn upon.

Let us not allow the "By Worth" to flow out of Keighley.